Advocacy Plan
In January 2025, Mount Barker District Council adopted a new Advocacy Plan, outlining a coordinated approach to securing funding, influencing policy, and advocating for critical infrastructure and services to meet the needs of the region's rapidly growing community.
Shaped by public feedback and the community’s priorities identified in the MARKYT Scorecard, the plan focuses on six key areas essential to the district's future development: wastewater management, public transport, road upgrades, recreation and community facilities, education and health services, and policy changes to support high-growth councils.
The plan is built on five guiding principles, designed to ensure effective and meaningful advocacy. It stresses that advocacy must be direct and purposeful, focusing on long-term relationship building rather than transactional interactions. Evidence-based advocacy, persistence, collaboration, and empowering the voices of the community are key components of the strategy.